Make you own Glass jewellery, anyone can do it!
Contents
1. vp User manual Make you own Glass jewellery anyone can do it INTRODUCTION With the HotPot you can melt glass in a microwave to create jewellery or glass components for jewellery and other creative purposes This technique is also known by the name of glass fusing This technique is now available for everyone with the HotPot since you don t need to buy a special expensive fusing kiln Any simple cheap microwave will do the job Reed this manual carefully before you start working with the hotpot The HotPot comes in 2 sizes the HotPot Standard has an inner diameter of 8 cm 3 1 inch outer diameter 12 cm 4 7 inch the HotPot Maxi has an inner diameter of 12 cm 4 7 inch outer diameter 17 cm 6 7 inch The HotPot is made of Bio Soluble fibre a fibre which is ultra light and non hazardous The upper part the lid has a special black coating on the inside that makes it possible to obtain extremely high temperatures inside the pot causing the glass to melt within several minutes The HotPot is available as a single pot or as a starter pack that holds a collection of glass plates and various glass materials tools and components for jewellery called the HotBox All materials are also for sale as individual items After you have successfully created you first pieces you can extend your package with glass tools and jewellery components just the way you want it A microwave is not provided with the HotPot or HotBox MICR2. fire other materials besides glass Don t make your working space too small it is always nice to have all materials at hand Reserve a fixed place for the heat resistant gloves since you must be able to use them at any given moment You don t want to ruin your glasswork because you couldn t find your gloves right Prepare a heat resistant surface say a ceramic tile next to the microwave It should be large enough to put both your HotPot bottom and lid next to each other Never use a wooden or plastic surface to put a hot HotPot on it will surely cause burning marks EXTRA After having successfully fused some beautiful pieces of jewellery you will probably want to extend the possibilities The HotBox starter pack includes several materials to design your own style and colours with your jewellery and several tools for ease of use and to improve the making of better finished items such as dichroic glass the top layer of this glass contains precious metals for colourful reflections and Millefiori small glass pieces to fuse flower like shapes Apart form that you can buy numerous articles to extend your collection such as Dichro slides masker film that contains precious metals and can easily be fused on glass Stringers thin rods of glass for decoration purposes Pre cuts fusing glass in pre cut shapes like stars circles etc Gold pencil for decorating in gold Kanthal wire for creating wired Suspension systems Overglaze to prevent matt
3. OWAVE The microwave used for fusing with the HotPot can be of any type the simplest version will do In fact the simpler the better having turnable buttons in stead of a digital system can be easier when you need to determine the exact level of watts to use In most microwaves you will find a round glass turning plate on the bottom We advise you to use this while firing the HotPot since turning the HotPot continuously contributes to a better diffusion of the temperature and therefore better more equally melted glass The HotPot should never be put directly on the glass turning plate since the high temperature of the HotPot may cause the turning plate to crack Always provide an air vent in between the plate and the HotPot by putting 3 isolating blocks under the HotPot These blocks are provided with the HotPot For more information www hotpot shop de Some microwaves have a tendency to make quite rough shocking movements while turning If hat is the case your glass pieces may distort and the HotPot can slip of its position in de microwave which is not acceptable Should you experience that this is happening you better glue the glass pieces together You can use glass tac or elmer glue Theoretically it is possible to use your kitchen microwave which is also used for making food We strongly recommend you NOT to do so since you will often melt glass which contains metal oxides and other stuff that can cause toxic gasses We recommend you to
4. and dull spots that often occur on opaque glass types On www microwave hotpot com you will find many tipsheets project sheets and other useful information that explains more about how to use all these materials Check out the website and learn more about making glass jewellery TIPS amp TRICKS e Oil and dirt can leave matt and nasty spots on your glass after fusing Clean your glass before fusing with a degreasing fluid such as cleaning alcohol or a special glass cleaner e Never use a glass cutter with oil Although there are many nice cutters with automatic oil reservoir you should note use this type of cutter unless you leave the oil out e In countries where 220 Volts is common never use the HotPot above 700 watt If you have 110 Volts the microwave s maximum watt is usually 1000 which is okay as a maximum for the HotPot If you fire too high the glass will be heated up too fast which can cause a thermal shock and therefore breaking of the glass and possible damage to your HotPot e Every time you start fusing the HotPot must be completely cooled to room temperature If you use a warm HotPot the glass will melt a lot faster which not only makes it more difficult to define the fusing time but again this may cause a thermal shock to your glass e f your HotPot just gets warm and not really hot try to put him within the microwave on a different place of the glass plate It is possible that the micro waves do not hit the HotPot All
5. buy a separate microwave for your glass fusing This can be any type the simpler the better Hot tip even a second hand microwave will do fine check your second hand store or second hand stuff website many people offer their old microwaves for little money nowadays GLASS FUSING With your HotPot you will probably have bought a series of glass plates for glass fusing This is special glass selected for glass fusing in the HotPot To achieve the best results it s good to have some basic knowledge about glass Therefore we will now introduce you to some rather technical background information about the material glass For additional information you can also check www hotpot shop de Surface tension Like any other liquid glass has its own surface tension which for glass is approximately 5 millimetres This implies that glass when heated up to 800 C 1500 F will pull or flow to a thickness of approximately 5 millimetres This is important to keep in mind when making new glass pieces Most fusing glass is manufactured in a standard thickness of 3 mm When you want to fully fuse 2 pieces together it is therefore advisable to lay 2 pieces on top of each other that are exactly the same size Then you can expect a result of similar size and shape after firing the edges will be somewhat round and nicely fused to one piece It also means that with 3 layers of each 3 mm glass total 9 mm your glass will flow and flatten to a thickness of
6. cool on a heat resistant surface until it is cooled to room temperature The time needed for this cooling process of course depends strongly on the size of the piece a guideline can be somewhere between 1 and 2 hours In case of doubt let it cool longer Remember forced cooling can always lead to cracks because of thermal shock GLASS RELEASE AGENTS Never put your glass directly on the bottom of the HotPot as it will stick to this bottom while melting and this will damage the surface of the bottom You will need to use a release agent To fuse a flat piece of glass we advise you to first put a piece of biosoluble fibre blanket on the bottom 1 mm thickness covered by a piece of fibre paper Both need to be slightly larger than the glass to prevent the glass from flowing over the fibre material while melting This way you can create a nice surface on the bottom of your glass piece and it will not stick to the HotPot The fibre paper is for 1 time use only The fibre blanket can sometimes be used a second time Note never use bakery kitchen paper this is not suitable for melting glass Biosoluble fibre blanket and fibre paper are included in the HotBox starter pack ot tip You can also create pieces that are not fully flat at the bottom side Use cut parts of biosoluble blanket to make an uneven bottom and build a more 3 dimensional piece in that way We advise you not to use ceramic release material of other brands Many of these ma
7. e HotPot from the microwave and place it ona heat resistant surface to cool Leave the lid on 8 After the glass has cooled to room temperature may take 1 2 hours you can remove the glass piece from the microwave Remove the burned fibre paper and blanket clean your glass piece with some water and finish your jewellery oo Hot tip Place a large ceramic tile next to your microwave so you never have to look for a place to put your HotPot after firing FIRING TIMES The optimum wattage and firing time needs to be determined by testing As you already know size and thickness of the glass is of great influence Furthermore there is a big difference in the firing times between the HotPot Standard and the HotPot Maxi the latter can take up to 5 extra minutes to achieve the same result as the Standard model Another very important factor is the microwave The behaviour varies between each brand and each type which makes it impossible to provide you with a standard instruction You will have to get to know you own microwave by starting some straight forward tests that you fuse while documenting exactly the settings of the microwave and what results you get This will teach you to fuse successfully and safe to make beautiful jewellery It will also teach you what type of fusing will be your goal since the level of fusing is a personal choice When 2 pieces melt together still showing clearly the 2 separate pieces we call this tack
8. fusing see figure 1 When you can no longer see the 2 different pieces and everything has melted to one level we call it full fusing figure 3 Both are technically okay And of course there are many levels between tack and full fuse as the figures below show you Your can decide for yourself what your goals are 1 2 3 To help you along with your very first test we suggest you put 2 pieces of 3 x 3 cm 1 x 1 inch on top of each other and fire it at 550 watt Proceed until you see a yellow orange light coming out of the HotPot This should happen somewhere between 3 and 10 minutes depending on your microwave the size of your HotPot and your glass This is the sign the fusing is starting At this point you can start checking the level of fusing by opening the microwave and the HotPot Continue firing with regular checking until the result is how you want it to be For more information www hotpot shop de Hot tip To have a better view on the HotPot light in your microwave you can remove the lamp of your microwave or cover it with some heat resistant material like fibre blanket and a non transparent tape YOUR WORKING AREA It may be wise to create a permanent working space for yourself rather than having to clear everything up every time Always make sure that there is enough space around the microwave for heat release Think about ventilation options for the room since hazardous gasses and strange smells can occur if you
9. g the glass if it is not clearly cooled enough In case of doubt you should wait a bit longer rather than having your fingers burned For emergency situations keep an ointment for burned skin at close hand Never rinse a glass piece with cold water if it is not fully cooled If the glass is still warm on the inside it may easily crack so please wait until you are sure it is completely cooled to room temperature Never leave the microwave unattended when you are fusing glass in tt For more information www hotpot shop de
10. maximum 5 mm The size will have increased and the shape will have become more round Fusing a piece of 3 mm to high temperatures will result is a smaller piece which has changed in shape and grown in thickness A very small piece can even be fused to a little ball in this way 1 layer total 3 mm 2 layers total 6 mm 3 layers total 9 mm The glass was pulled inwards No loss of shape nicely Size has grown and shape rounded edges has blown up Coefficient of thermal expansion For more information www hotpot shop de Glass used for glass fusing must always have the same coefficient of thermal expansion in short COE This means that the degree the glass expands during firing must be equal for all pieces to want to fuse together When glass gets heated it will expand and when cooled it will shrink If you fuse 2 pieces of glass with different COE s together the piece will break This means you have to make sure you always use compatible glass The standard HotPot glass is COE 90 Increase of size Because of the expansion of glass during firing it is important that you carefully choose the size of your glass pieces The glass should stay away from the inside wall of the HotPot during firing so keep a space of at least 1 5 cm 0 5 inch between the glass and the side wall of the HotPot In case your glass comes in contact with that inside wall your HotPot will be damaged and will probably become useless Be extremely cautiou
11. micro wave devices can work with the HotPot e Make sure your microwave is placed exactly horizontal to prevent the HotPot from moving to one side and pieces of glass shifting around in the HotPot For more information www hotpot shop de SAFETY PRECAUTIONS Always use heat resistant gloves to open the HotPot for checking the fusing process and for moving the HotPot when it is not yet completely cooled off Do not place the HotPot on a wooden or plastic surface when it is hot This is bound to leave burning Marks and possible create a fire Use a heat resistant surface like for instance a ceramic tile Check frequently whether the tile holds away the heat well enough from the under laying surface and does not leave burning marks The tile should always be close to your microwave so that you never have to look for it when you need it Should any accidents occur make sure you have a fire extinguisher in your working area in such a place that you have easy access to it Keep any flammable materials away from your working area Working with hot glass is not for children so clean up your working area and lock away all possible dangerous materials when children are around to prevent them form playing with it In case you fuse non glass materials with your glass hazardous gasses or fumes may occur Make sure the working area can be vented at all times Be careful with hot glass the temperature of glass can not be seen Be cautious with handlin
12. s when you stack more than 2 layers on top of each other at high temperatures the piece will melt into a different but much larger piece read the chapter on surface tension Heating and cooling Some microwaves can go up to 800 watt or more However if you live in a country where the standard power system is 220 230 Volts we strongly advise you to fuse your glass at a maximum of 500 or 600 watt When you live in an area where 110 Volts is the standard you can easily fire at 800 or 900 watt With more watt your glass will melt quicker Heating your glass too fast will cause the glass pieces to break as a result of thermal shock If this occurs glass pieces may even shift to the inner side wall of the HotPot and damage it Take into consideration that less watts leads to slower heating of the glass and is therefore a safer way to work Liquid glass cannot break When you see an orange glow coming out of the hole in the lid of the HotPot the temperature will be high enough for the melting process to have started This means that you can safely open the HotPot to quickly check the melting process at this point The glass will also have an orange glow and will be soft enough not to break by thermal shock Close the HotPot after 1 or 2 seconds as the glass will cool quickly and will then again be exposed to thermal shock Be careful not to cool your piece too fast When a piece is ready and you have removed the HotPot from the microwave leave it to
13. terials contain hazardous and toxic particles The materials from the HotPot family are absolutely safe THE PROCESS OF MAKING GLASS JEWELLERY STEP BY STEP For more information www hotpot shop de 1 Cut your glass clean it and decorate it with coloured glass millefiori etc Use the special HotPot glue to hold the layers together Other brands of glue will most likely leave dirty spots after fusing Leave until the glue has dried completely 2 Cuta piece of biosoluble fibre blanket 1 mm and a piece of fibre paper Make sure these are about 0 5 cm 0 25 inch larger than the glass pieces 3 Put the blanket and fibre paper on the bottom of the HotPot and put your glass on top exactly in the middle of the HotPot Make sure to leave a space of 1 5 cm 0 5 inch from the inside wall of the HotPot Place the bottom of the HotPot in the middle of the microwave on the turning plate Set watt and time start the microwave and stay near the microwave during the process of firing When you see a clear yellow orange light coming out of the hole of the HotPot you can check the melting process by lifting the lid of the HotPot with heat resistant gloves If not melted properly yet close the lid en continue the firing Check again after 20 seconds You can repeat this until the glass is fused the way you feel is enough Checking needs to be done quickly to prevent to glass from cooling too much 7 When your piece is fused immediately remove th
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